The invention relates to the area of surgical instrumentation.
More precisely, it concerns a device to store and arrange or classify at least one surgical suturing thread before, during, or after its use during an operation.
When a surgeon operates on a patient, to draw the edges of the wounds or organs together, a thread called “suturing thread” is used.
These suturing threads are marketed in the form of a certain length of thread swaged to a needle. In some cases, a thread may be provided with two needles, one at each of its ends.
The suturing thread and needle(s) are marketed in a sterile pack which itself is contained inside a blister pack or aluminium sachet. The sterile pack carries indications on the technical characteristics of the thread and needle contained therein.
The needles may be straight or curved, with a round or triangular cross-section for example.
Also suturing threads are of different diameters, lengths and types in relation to the intended surgical application. In addition, some are absorbable, others are not.
In practice, surgeons operate assisted by a surgical assistant who is asked to pass the instruments needed and the suturing thread suitable for the suture to be made.
At the surgeon's request, the surgical assistant takes the sterile pack containing the appropriate suturing thread, opens it and passes the thread swaged to the needle to the surgeon by means of a needle holder.
Suturing threads can be very costly. After completing a suture, the surgeon gives back the remaining suturing thread (off-cut) and needle to the surgical assistant for their temporary storage before a second use and even a third use if the residual length of the thread so permits.
In the current state of the art, the surgical assistant simply lays the needle and remaining thread on the operating table, on the sterile surgical drapes.
It will easily be appreciated that during a long, complex surgical operation, a surgical assistant may have to classify and organize numerous residual suturing threads whose technical characteristics and those of the needle are highly different. Since the suturing threads have been taken out of their sterile pack, there is a high risk of error with respect to diameter or type of suturing thread. Also the surgical assistant runs the risk of entangling the different threads.
Additionally, the needles placed on the sterile drapes may perforate these drapes or be dropped.
If perforation goes unnoticed, there is a risk of continuing to use a needle which is no longer sterile and/or of continuing a surgical operation when the surgical drapes are no longer sterile.
If the surgical assistant realizes that the needle has perforated the sterile drapes, the needle must be discarded despite the financial loss since it is no longer sterile.
Additionally, there is a possibility that surgical assistant may suffer skin puncture with the numerous needles placed before him, which may cause accidental contamination from blood on the needle, which may be infected.
Finally, the dropping of a needle may go unnoticed, and staff who clean the operating block after the operation are also potentially exposed to blood contamination should they accidentally injure themselves with this needle.
The purpose of the invention is therefore to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the state of the art, and in particular to provide a device with which it is possible to store, arrange or classify the threads used for a surgical suturing:                temporarily,        without any risk of entangling the suturing threads or tying knots,        avoiding loss thereof through accidental dropping,        and by associating indications with each suturing thread and its needle, giving information on their particular technical characteristics.        
A further purpose of the invention is to provide a device with which it is possible to limit the risk of surgical assistants suffering accidental skin puncture, and thereby to avoid accidents due to exposure to blood.
Finally an additional objective of the invention is to provide a device with which it is possible to store used needles before they are discarded, at lower cost than with sharps containers known in the state of the art.